Families have relished the free art-driven activities for children at Horsham Regional Art Gallery this week.
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The workshops run daily from January 12 until Sunday have been offered by National Gallery of Victoria Kids on Tour for the first time in Horsham.
Horsham Regional Art Gallery education officer Sue Wilson said both the facilitated and drop in sessions had been well attended and provided a different option of something to do during the school holidays.
"The workshop gives children a flavour of what they might get at (NGV) as many of the activities are based on current exhibitions, specifically 'Kaws: Playtime'" she said.
More than 80 regional and metropolitan Victorian venues have hosted the program, which began seven years ago.
"The idea is about raising awareness about gallery exhibitions," Ms Wilson said. "Our Art Deco exhibition with works from the National Gallery is free and still open until February 2."
Pamela Copley from Melbourne who was visiting Horsham said she took her six-year-old grandson William Starks to a workshop called 'Make a Friend for BFF'.
"There's no childcare centres open during the school holidays so I needed somewhere to take him," she said. "I looked it up on the internet and saw it was free so took him along."
Ms Wilson explained that the activity was based on a character created by Artist Brian Donnelly called BFF who has human feelings and emotions.
"The children can draw a portrait of themselves, which we showed them how to do using a mirror, or they could draw an imagined character," she said.
Horsham Town Hall marketing co-ordinator Charee Smith said the program was about encouraging children to come into the gallery and breaking down barriers to attract people who might not normally visit.
She said the program had been well-received with the most popular workshop being the Pop-Up Surprise with letters activity, in which children could use a special set of alphabet stickers drawn by KAWS to spell new words.
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Eliza Berlage
Eliza Berlage made the move to Horsham to report for the Wimmera Mail-Times in October 2019. Originally from Sydney, she has a sociology background and spent two years working in the press gallery in Canberra.
Eliza Berlage made the move to Horsham to report for the Wimmera Mail-Times in October 2019. Originally from Sydney, she has a sociology background and spent two years working in the press gallery in Canberra.
